Old Rules Do Not Necessarily Apply

When I was growing up, I was taught that getting an education, working hard and saving your money was the way to succeed in life. Although I still consider that good advice, a lot has changed as the result of the Internet.

I am amazed by the number of people who are making huge amounts of money by publishing creative content on social media sites...

Here are two examples that defy the norms:

1. Casey Neistat - He dropped out of High School in the 10th grade at age 15 and did not return to school or graduate. He later ran away from home. From age 17 until 20 he lived in a trailer park with his girlfriend and infant son. Prior to moving to New York City, he worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant and short order cook. His first job in New York City was as a bike messenger. Today, he earns an estimated $140.6K - $2.2M per year via YouTube.
2. Sailing La Vagabonde - Riley and Elanya are a young couple that met in Greece just after he purchased a sailboat. He had been working on off-shore oil rigs and she had been bumming around Europe singing in clubs. Without any formal training, they started making videos documenting their travels sailing around the world. Today, they earn an estimated $5.9K - $95K per year via YouTube and almost $9,000 per video via Patreon (they make approximately one video per week).

The two things these people have in common are a good work ethic (I know from personal experience that creating quality videos is extremely time consuming) and they enjoy what they are doing. Granted, not everyone has the imagination and talent to do what they do but if you can, what a great way to live.